Written Answers Friday 1 August 2008

Scottish Executive

Abortion

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many abortions have been carried out in each year since 2001, broken down by age group and NHS board.

Shona Robison: Data on abortions carried out in Scotland can be found on the Scottish Health Statistics website.

  The number of abortions carried out in Scotland since 2001, broken down by age group and NHS board is available in a table on the Information Services Division website at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=mat_aas_table207.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.

Audiology

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many current vacancies there are for audiologists in each NHS board.

Shona Robison: This is a matter for individual NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally. Following the audit, NHS boards were required to produce action plans to address workforce requirements in the light of the new target. We shall work closely with all NHSScotland boards to ensure that the drive to further improve services for the benefit of patients across Scotland continues.

Carers

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged under 18 with support needs are (a) looked after by carers and (b) projected to need a carer for each of the next five years, broken down by local authority.

Shona Robison: The information is not held centrally.

  Further information on children who are looked after by local authorities is available from the Scottish Government website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Children/TrendLookedAfter.

  Information on unpaid carers is available from the Scottish Household Survey at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002

  and from the 2001 census at:

  www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp.

Carers

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged 18 and over with support needs are (a) looked after by carers and (b) projected to need a carer for each of the next five years, broken down by local authority.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Further information on people aged 18 and over receiving social work services is available from the Scottish Government website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Publications.

  First Report for the Range and Capacity Review published on 16 July 2004 looked at projections of community care service users aged 65 and over, at 5 year intervals at Scotland level. This is available at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19665/40321.

  Information on people aged 18 and over with unpaid carers is available from the Scottish Household Survey at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002 and from the 2001 census at: www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/common/home.jsp.

Dentistry

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what out-of-hours emergency services are available for dental patients in the Lothians who are not registered with an NHS dentist.

Shona Robison: Out-of-hours emergency service arrangements are a matter for NHS boards. Full information on the arrangements in Lothian are not held centrally. The member should contact NHS Lothian on 0131 537 8444 for information on the arrangements they have in place.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the extension of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to apply to cross-border public authorities.

Bruce Crawford: There have been no discussions with Her Majesty’s Government about the extension of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to apply to cross-border public authorities.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what surgical procedures to assist weight loss are available in each NHS board area.

Shona Robison: Four board areas provide bariatric surgery for the Scottish population: NHS Grampian, NHS Lothian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire. The two main procedures that fall under bariatric surgery are adjustable gastric banding and Roux en Y gastric bypass. Both procedures reduce the volume of food which can be ingested and gastric bypass also causes a degree of mal absorption.

  Bariatric surgery is one element in the management of obesity. We are currently conducting a review of best practice in order to publish guidance to NHS boards on preparing local healthy weight strategies. This will cover treatment in primary, secondary and tertiary care and address coordination of services through local regional and national pathways. It is anticipated that this guidance will provide greater clarity to both GPs and NHS boards when it is published at the end of 2008.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether bariatric weight loss surgery is available to all patients for whom this procedure is considered to be clinically appropriate.

Shona Robison: It is estimated that 2.5% of the adult population of Scotland is in the BMI category for which bariatric surgery may be indicated (BMI>40), however not all would meet the clinical criteria defined by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

  Bariatric surgery is only one element in the management of obesity. We are currently conducting a review of best practice in order to publish guidance to NHS boards on preparing local healthy weight strategies. This will cover treatment in primary, secondary and tertiary care and address coordination of services through local regional and national pathways. It is anticipated that this guidance will provide greater clarity to both GPs and NHS boards when it is published at the end of 2008.

Health

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that consultation with health visitors is required before major changes are made in their working situation.

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that GPs should be consulted before any changes are made which affect their working relationship with health visitors.

Shona Robison: I would expect that any group of staff whose working conditions were to change would be consulted. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have said that any proposed changes to health visiting services must be strongly influenced by the input of local GPs, and those proposals will be subject to extensive local discussion, with the aim of reaching agreement with GPs, before implementation is considered.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance on Clostridium difficile and MRSA has been offered to first aid organisations such as the St John Ambulance Service and the Red Cross.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health Protection Scotland (HPS) is the source of expert advice and support to government, NHS, other organisations and the public on health protection issues in Scotland. Information, advice and guidance on Clostridium difficile and MRSA is available on the HPS website, part of which is a weekly electronic publication through which over 800 subscribers are sent notification of new content on the site. Making information available in this way ensures that new information reaches as wide an audience as possible as soon as it becomes available.

NHS Hospitals

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to reverse the decision of the previous administration to remove the casualty unit from Stobhill General Hospital.

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive in what way retaining a casualty unit at Stobhill General Hospital would impact negatively upon (a) plans to alter the hospital and (b) the wider restructuring of health care across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Shona Robison: As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has said before, she is keen that we maintain forward momentum in the modernisation of Glasgow’s hospital services. We do not think it would be helpful or indeed possible to reconsider all the decisions under the previous administration, many of which are now well underway.

  The Cabinet Secretary undertook the topping out ceremony for the new Stobhill Hospital in October last year. It will be one of the most modern and well-equipped hospitals in the country providing a wide range of services and will be a model for future hospital planning. It signals a new era in patient care and comfort with well-equipped treatment areas and consulting rooms, state-of-the art theatres and modern, airy waiting areas.

  The new Stobhill hospital is on target to open to patients in 2009 and it is without doubt that this new development marks a significant step forward in the modernisation of the NHS in Scotland.

NHS Hospitals

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 and over have been admitted to hospital accident and emergency departments in each of the last five years with stab wounds, broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) NHS board area.

Shona Robison: Data relating to the reason for attendance at accident and emergency departments is not centrally available. The following tables show the number of emergency admissions into acute hospital care due to assault by sharp object.

  Table 1: Number of Emergency Hospital Admissions Due to Assault by Sharp Object1 in 0-17 and 18+ Year Olds, by Council Area of Residence; Discharged During Financial Years 2002-03 to 2006-07

  

 Age Group
 Council Area of Residence
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 0-17
 Aberdeen City
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Aberdeenshire
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Angus
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Argyll and Bute
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 City of Edinburgh
 10
 5
 5
 10
 7


 
 Clackmannanshire
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Dundee City
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 East Ayrshire
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 East Lothian
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 East Renfrewshire
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Falkirk
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Fife
 *
 5
 *
 *
 6


 
 Glasgow City
 114
 71
 69
 74
 76


 
 Highland
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Inverclyde
 9
 *
 6
 6
 *


 
 Midlothian
 *
 7
 *
 *
 *


 
 Moray
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 North Ayrshire
 *
 6
 *
 *
 7


 
 North Lanarkshire
 11
 13
 10
 7
 8


 
 Orkney Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Perth and Kinross
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Renfrewshire
 11
 13
 14
 8
 17


 
 Scottish Borders
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Shetland Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 South Ayrshire
 *
 *
 *
 5
 *


 
 South Lanarkshire
 27
 15
 11
 12
 8


 
 Stirling
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 West Dunbartonshire
 *
 *
 8
 11
 7


 
 West Lothian
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Unknown or non-resident
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Scotland
 214
 163
 147
 155
 157


 18+
 Aberdeen City
 41
 38
 27
 30
 32


 
 Aberdeenshire
 13
 8
 *
 13
 *


 
 Angus
 5
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Argyll and Bute
 18
 13
 14
 10
 16


 
 City of Edinburgh
 64
 63
 71
 68
 66


 
 Clackmannanshire
 11
 6
 7
 *
 *


 
 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 8
 11
 5
 9
 11


 
 Dundee City
 20
 25
 27
 21
 22


 
 East Ayrshire
 39
 25
 35
 22
 30


 
 East Dunbartonshire
 17
 9
 8
 8
 12


 
 East Lothian
 6
 *
 *
 *
 6


 
 East Renfrewshire
 22
 24
 18
 13
 17


 
 Falkirk
 18
 16
 16
 13
 9


 
 Fife
 32
 31
 41
 22
 36


 
 Glasgow City
 722
 495
 455
 411
 442


 
 Highland
 29
 13
 17
 10
 18


 
 Inverclyde
 50
 60
 43
 45
 45


 
 Midlothian
 8
 *
 *
 *
 14


 
 Moray
 13
 7
 *
 9
 *


 
 North Ayrshire
 67
 61
 52
 41
 51


 
 North Lanarkshire
 109
 86
 85
 84
 97


 
 Orkney Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Perth and Kinross
 11
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Renfrewshire
 94
 80
 87
 64
 54


 
 Scottish Borders
 *
 6
 *
 *
 *


 
 Shetland Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 South Ayrshire
 27
 14
 14
 10
 19


 
 South Lanarkshire
 132
 89
 71
 78
 70


 
 Stirling
 9
 11
 7
 *
 *


 
 West Dunbartonshire
 49
 48
 37
 36
 58


 
 West Lothian
 31
 19
 25
 32
 21


 
 Unknown or Non-Resident
 23
 33
 20
 15
 22


 
 Scotland
 1695
 1314
 1236
 1092
 1211



  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

  Notes:

  * Suppressed to prevent disclosure of information about individual patients.

  1. Assault by sharp object is defined by ICD-10 codes X99.- in any secondary diagnosis position.

  Reference: IR2008-01683.

  Table 2: Number of Emergency Hospital Admissions Due to Assault by Sharp Object1 in 0-17 and 18+ Year Olds, by NHS Board of Residence; Discharged During Financial Years 2002-03 to 2006-07

  

 Age Group
 NHS Board of Residence
 2002-2003
 2003-2004
 2004-2005
 2005-2006
 2006-2007


 0-17
 Ayrshire and Arran
 5
 10
 5
 10
 11


 
 Borders
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Fife
 *
 5
 *
 *
 6


 
 Forth Valley
 5
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Grampian
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 152
 105
 105
 110
 109


 
 Highland
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Lanarkshire
 25
 18
 16
 13
 11


 
 Lothian
 15
 14
 7
 12
 12


 
 Orkney Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Shetland Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Tayside
 5
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Western Isles
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Unknown or Non-Resident
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Scotland
 214
 163
 147
 155
 157


 18+
 Ayrshire and Arran
 133
 100
 101
 73
 100


 
 Borders
 *
 6
 *
 *
 *


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 8
 11
 5
 9
 11


 
 Fife
 32
 31
 41
 22
 36


 
 Forth Valley
 38
 33
 30
 24
 17


 
 Grampian
 67
 53
 40
 52
 49


 
 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1009
 759
 673
 607
 658


 
 Highland
 47
 26
 31
 20
 34


 
 Lanarkshire
 186
 132
 131
 132
 137


 
 Lothian
 109
 93
 110
 105
 107


 
 Orkney Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Shetland Islands
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Tayside
 36
 35
 47
 31
 35


 
 Western Isles
 *
 *
 *
 *
 *


 
 Unknown or Non-Resident
 23
 33
 20
 15
 22


 
 Scotland
 1695
 1314
 1236
 1092
 1211



  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

  Notes:

  * Suppressed to prevent disclosure of information about individual patients.

  1. Assault by sharp object is defined by ICD-10 codes X99.- in any secondary diagnosis position.

  Reference: IR2008-01683.

NHS Staff

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many potential (a) student nurses and (b) midwives dropped out before completing their training in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Shona Robison: Information is not held in the format requested. ISD Scotland publishes information annually about students completing nursing training over a three-year period or cohort. The following table sets out the latest available attrition (drop out) rates for full cohorts.

  

 
 1998-99 (%)
 1999-2000 (%)
 2000-01 (%)
 2001-02 (%)
 2002-03 (%)


 All Specialties
 22.1
 23.5
 24.3
 26.4
 26.4


 Adult
 21.2
 23.3
 23.5
 27.0
 27.1


 Mental Health
 22.6
 24.4
 29.6
 27.7
 23.9


 Learning Disability
 29.8
 35.4
 22.2
 24.0
 23.7


 Children
 26.5
 21.3
 24.5
 26.3
 31.3


 Midwifery
 29.1
 24.5
 23.6
 24.0
 26.2



  Notes:

  1. Data on the number of students entering training, movements while on courses and completions for each cohort is provided by NHS Education for Scotland.

  2. The years given are academic years, starting with the autumn cohort (August, September and October of each year).

  Source:

  NHS Education for Scotland

  ISD Scotland

Public Appointments

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the individual membership of those cross-border public authorities listed in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999.

Bruce Crawford: The information requested is already in the public domain and can be found on the websites of the relevant bodies.

Public Appointments

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has had in the appointment of members to those cross-border public authorities listed in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999.

Bruce Crawford: Lead responsibility for appointments of board members to cross border bodies is usually a matter for UK Government departments, with the Scottish Government playing a secondary role. This role involves Scottish ministers being consulted or invited to agree by their UK counterparts on an appointment. On other occasions, however, Scottish ministers will appoint board members to cross-border bodies. The different approaches are dependent on the particular arrangements agreed between officials in different UK departments and ministers on either side of the border for appointments to specific cross-border bodies.

Public Bodies

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what basis (a) Scottish Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, (b) Scottish Committee of the Council of Tribunals, (c) Scottish Consumer Council and (d) Traffic Commissioner for the Scottish Traffic Area were defined as cross-border public authorities and included in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999.

Bruce Crawford: All of the bodies mentioned operate in both reserved and devolved areas. Cross-border public authorities are designated as such by virtue of their remit falling partly within the legislative competence of the Parliament. Such bodies can include those dealing with matters which are wholly devolved in Scotland, but which operate both in Scotland and England. They can also include Scotland-only bodies which operate in both reserved and devolved areas.

Public Bodies

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the cross-border public authorities included in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999 have since been removed from the list of such authorities.

Bruce Crawford: The order referred to in the question sets out the cross-border public authorities as specified under section 88 of the Scotland Act 1998. A copy of this order can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 23320).

  Only one such order has ever been made. Any provision in respect of alterations to bodies named in the section 88 order would be made in relevant statute.

Public Bodies

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all current cross-border public authorities and what contact it has had with each of these bodies in the last three years.

Bruce Crawford: The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999 (S.I.1999/1319) sets out the cross-border public authorities as specified under section 88 of the Scotland Act 1998. A copy of this order can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 23320).

  Only one such order has ever been made. The statutory framework for the operation of new bodies with devolved and non-devolved functions created since devolution is set out in the relevant establishing statutes.

  A list of contacts made between cross-border public authorities and the Scottish Government is not held centrally.

Public Bodies

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who monitors the effectiveness of cross-border public authorities as listed in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999.

Bruce Crawford: Cross-border public authorities, in common with all other public authorities, are subject to the regulation, audit and inspection which is appropriate to their functions.

Public Bodies

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has been consulted by any of the cross-border public authorities, as listed in Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 1319 The Scotland Act 1998 (Cross-Border Public Authorities) (Specification) Order 1999, in each year since 2002, broken down by authority.

Bruce Crawford: The information requested is not held centrally.

Regeneration

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-14103 by Stewart Maxwell on 19 June 2008, what funding and resources will be (a) provided by it and (b) transferred from Scottish Enterprise to local government to support town centre regeneration in each of the next three years.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government has worked with COSLA to agree a new approach to managing and funding local delivery. As part of this, we have agreed to devolve responsibility and funding for local matters to local councils wherever possible, including for town centre regeneration. It is not the Scottish Government’s intention to create new ring fenced funds for specific issues.

  Agreement has also been reached with COSLA on the key elements of the transfer of local regeneration functions and resources to local authorities in the Scottish Enterprise area, in line with the enterprise networks reform package announced in September 2007. In line with the agreement, the lead role in local regeneration projects, which might include town centre regeneration, will in future lie with local authorities.

Salmon Farming

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the number of job opportunities that will be lost if the minimum import price arrangements relating to Norwegian salmon are ended.

Michael Russell: The Scottish Government submitted a paper, jointly with Ireland, to the European Commission on 25 February 2008. That joint paper, The likely effects of removing the MIP on imports of Norwegian salmon into the EU , contained a number of estimates about the potential future economic impact of the loss of the minimum import price (MIP). A copy of this paper has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46125).

  In a "worse-case" scenario, where the removal of the MIP results in future dramatic price falls for farmed salmon, and puts at jeopardy profitability in the sector, it is estimated that some 773 potential future job opportunities could be lost in salmon and smolt production in Scotland. This figure has been calculated by comparing the potential for growth in the sector in a ‘best-case’ scenario, assuming high continuing rates of growth in the Scottish aquaculture industry over a forward five to 10-year period to the point where salmon production grows from the current estimated production of 139,000 tonnes per annum to an assumed maximum of some 210,000 tonnes of salmon (the theoretical carrying capacity of existing sites) against a "worse-case" scenario where annual production falls from 139,000 tonnes to some 110,000 tonnes, were the removal of the MIP to cause future dramatic price falls. However all such forecasts are merely speculative and the development of a new strategic approach involving all parts of the industry, which is presently under discussion, will, it is hoped, ameliorate the effect of the end of the present MIP.

Scottish Ambulance Service

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Category A calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service in Glasgow, or the smallest area including the city for which calls are recorded, were made in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007 in respect of drug overdoses due to heroin or other opiates (i) alone or (ii) in combination with other substances and what the outcome was in each case.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has provided the following table, which sets out all overdose/poisoning related calls for Glasgow (postcode sectors G1 to G5).

  The information is recorded by dispatch code so the SAS are unable to provide definitive numbers of heroin/opiate related overdoses as some may have been categorised as "not alert", for example. On that basis, a full breakdown of relevant codes has been provided

  

 Chief Complaint (At Dispatch)
 2006
 2007


 Overdose/Poisoning: Abnormal Breathing
 23
 33


 Overdose/Poisoning: Antidepressants (Tricylic)
 5
 1


 Overdose/Poisoning: Cocaine (or Derivative)
 1
 5


 Overdose/Poisoning: Narcotics (Heroin)
 9
 10


 Overdose/Poisoning: Not Alert
 169
 201


 Overdose/Poisoning: Overdose (without Priority Symptoms)
 69
 56


 Overdose/Poisoning: Poisoning (without Priority Symptoms)
 4
 5


 Overdose/Poisoning: Severe Respiratory Distress
 1
 1


 Overdose/Poisoning: Unconscious
 91
 129


 Overdose/Poisoning: Unknown Status (3rd Party Caller)
 131
 179


 Overdose/Poisoning: Violent (Police Attending)
 49
 31


 Overdose/Poisoning: Override
 0
 2


 Total Overdose/Poisoning
 552
 653



  Notes

  1. While all overdose/poisoning chief complaints are 999 emergency calls, the codes can be category A, B or C determinants.

  2. The dispatch code is determined through questioning of a caller and is based on information available at the time of call. As such, the numbers within the specific heroin and cocaine determinant cannot be considered as a complete picture of overdose in respect of these two drugs as in many cases, the reason for overdose will not be apparent until paramedics arrive on scene.

  3. SAS do not currently record incidents where drugs and/or alcohol have been a factor beyond that provided above. SAS cannot, therefore, provide any analysis on a combination of drugs or whether drugs were a factor in any other incidents.

  4. SAS do not record details of "outcomes" for patients as their data systems only record ambulance service information; that is, up to the point at which they have completed treatment on scene or handed a patient over at hospital.